ATTENTION MOM'S !!!! Is Your Child carrying his/her Backpack Correctly or Is the Backpack carrying Them??

The New Year is upon us and school year has started for our children.  So many things to think about....school supplies to apples and honey.

Who has time to think about or even be concerned that the backpack we brought our children for their school books  may or may not be good for our child's backs; or that they may or may not be carrying their backpacks correctly.

So, you go ahead and prepare for the New Year and I will make sure you get the proper information you need to check the backpack , the books, the child and their spine.

Just keep an eye out for any of these scenarios...

And if you see any of your children looking like this, here are some well researched and well documented rules of thumb for carrying backpacks and proper fitting.

Proper Fitting

1. Using your height or back height or back length measurement, choose the pack that best fits your body. 

2. Load the backpack heaviest items next to your back being careful not to exceed 15% of your body weight.

3. Cinch the side straps to bring the load closer to your center of gravity.

4. Adjust the shoulder straps at the top so that the bottom of the back rests at the small of your back.  Keep adjusting it until you find the optimal positioning.

5. Make sure there are padded, wide (2-inches), adjustable             shoulder straps on the backpack with a padded back. Best to have a hip strap, waist belt, or frame to redistribute the weight of the backpack from the shoulders and back to the pelvis.

When a heavy weight, such as a backpack filled with books, is incorrectly placed on the shoulders, the weight's force can pull a child backward. To compensate, a child may bend forward at the hips or arch the back, which can cause the spine to compress unnaturally. The heavy weight might cause some kids to develop shoulder, neck, and back pain.

Kids who wear their backpacks over just one shoulder — as many do, because they think it looks better or just feels easier — may end up leaning to one side to offset the extra weight. They might develop lower and upper back pain and strain their shoulders and neck.

Improper backpack use can also lead to poor posture. Girls and younger kids may be especially at risk for backpack-related injuries because they're smaller and may carry loads that are heavier in proportion to their body weight.

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions and click on the links below for more helpful information.

http://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=2457

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00043

Dr Tova Goldfine/drtovagoldfine@gmail.com/052 420 1201

        www.chirodivine.com

Lapid's 0% VAT on new home purchases seems likely to fall flat

Yair Lapid, the Finance Minister has been working to get his law passed to cancel out the VAT of 18% on home purchases for apartments that cost under 1.6Million NIS. This law would only apply to Israelis who have served in the IDF, and pay their taxes.  

He promised that it would go into effect in September, but it has been stalled in committee by Netanyahu who says that it needs more study.  The government cannot afford at this time to reduce the VAT on homes, because of the increased costs of Tzuik Aiton, the operation that happened over the summer.  

What is the effect of this proposed law?  Well for one thing, the people who are targeted under the law have stopped buying apartments now.  They are waiting to see if the price will go down under the law, or if the contractors will find someway to make up the shortfall.  Also, the price of the apartment is only 1.6million NIS.  This price is almost impossible to find in the big cities.  It means that you will get a small 2 or 3 room apartment.  If you are a young couple, you will outgrow the apartment rather soon, when children are born.  It is better to buy a bigger apartment and stay there for a long time. 

Why only cancel the law for that segment of the population?  Housing is a big problem for everyone, not just people who have served in the IDF.  The current prices are very high for the average wage-earner and many people have to wait years to build up a down payment to buy an apartment.  

The cancellation of the VAT would help everyone.  The government wouldn't lose out if suddenly many people started buying apartments with zero VAT.  There are lots of different taxes on apartments that the shortfall would be made up in volume.  

The VAT would still apply to materials bought by contractors to build the apartments, and so on. 

In the meantime. I suggest that everyone just sit tight and save your money.  Wait and see what the government is going to do.  

Rachael Alice Orbach http://lifecoachjerusalem.weebly.com/

Banning the free supermarket bags, Pros and Cons

By Rachael Alice Orbach

The Knesset in Israel, I guess is bored.  There is no war and nothing that they really have to argue about, so they are now turning towards trying to save the environment.  The big bad wolf that they want to slay are the free plastic supermarket bags.  The government says that most people throw them away right when they get home from the market.

The government wants to have consumers pay for the supermarket bags, about 60 ag, a piece which is about 12 cents a bag.  A corner market owner, Dani in Givat Shaul is for the initiative, saying that people don't really understand the value of the bag.  He says that he has to give them out free, and that he has to pay for them from the manufacturer.

But most people I have interviewed for this blog post say that they really do use the bags for a variety of purposes, from wrapping leftover food, carrying books and then as garbage bags.  The average Israeli really does use the bags, and they only get thrown away when there is no more use for the bag, or it gets a hole. (which is quite often).

Most of the trash that is seen on the streets are not the supermarket bags, although there are a few, but other types of plastic trash, pictured here are two yogurt drink bottles thrown next to a school.

Here is a plastic sandwich bag on the street. And. . .

a bunch of garbage that didn't make it into the bin.   The main problem is not the supermarket bags, but all the packaging that our food come in  In order to unwrap pizza, each one is in plastic wrap, and then all three are wrapped again.  Why?  For example, pizzas could be individually wrapped, and then using cardboard or paper logo to wrap the three together. 

This is a small plastic bag that is given when you buy in a corner store.  This size bag wouldn't be affected by the ban on free bags. 

 In fact the ban only covers supermarket bags, which as I have noted are used many times,  Naftali Bennet, who is against the ban says the proposed initiative is in fact another tax on the consumer.  The consumer is already paying for the bags in fact. The businessman pays for them, and it is counted as an operating expense, and not a product. This expense is passed on to the consumer in the average price of all the products in the store.   If the bags are to be paid for, then consumers will either go on buying them, or is the price is right, they will buy garbage bags which are much heavier and take far longer to decay.   

Rachael Alice Orbach 

http://lifecoachjerusalem.weebly.com/

First Cloud in the Valley Day of the Fall - Jerusalem

First Cloud in the Valley in Jerusalem - a reminder from the Holy, One Blessed be He, Hashem that the world is indeed beautiful .  Rachael Alice Orbach - http://travelinghairsalon.weebly.com/

A door in Jerusalem

Such a door, color coordinated with the Mailbox and the tiles, caught my eye as I was walking to an appointment in Jerusalem.

Traveling Hair Salon can come to you in Jerusalem!
http://travelinghairsalon.weebly.com/ - use the contact form on the site!

The view of Givat Shaul Industrial section

You can see History in the making in Jerusalem.  This area used to be the Kanfei Nesharim airport over 60 years ago, but now it is a bustling industrial and shopping center in the western part of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is still surrounded by the forest, giving the city its "green lung." 

Rachael Alice Orbach                http://lifecoachjerusalem.weebly.com/